FEP Categories¶
FEPs are classified along three independent dimensions: Topic, Protocol, and Type. A single FEP may have multiple topic and protocol tags.
Topic¶
Describes the functional area a FEP addresses.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Identity & Authentication | Public keys, signatures, integrity proofs, DIDs, WebFinger resolution, OAuth -- establishing and verifying identity |
| Content & Objects | Object types, media attachments, formatting (MathML, MFM), quotes, metadata, licensing -- the data that travels across the network |
| Collections & Filtering | Managing, sorting, filtering, and observing collections -- from Blocked Collection to TREE-based filtering |
| Conversations & Messaging | Threads, context property, replies, Conversation Containers, backfilling -- how conversations are structured and retrieved |
| Discovery & Capabilities | NodeInfo, capability discovery, DNS resolution, Activity Intents -- "what can you do and how do I find you" |
| Federation & Delivery | Delivery mechanisms (multibox, relays), visibility, follower sync, error handling -- the S2S transport layer |
| Governance & Process | The FEP process itself, namespaces, conformance tests, SWICG decisions -- meta-level concerns |
| Interoperability & Protocols | Bridges to other protocols, URL schemes, Proxy Objects, FEDERATION.md -- interaction with external systems |
| Social Features | Reactions, polls, events, marketplace, to-dos, payments -- domain-specific functionality |
| Migration & Portability | Account migration, Move activity, export formats, portable objects -- moving data between servers |
Protocol¶
Describes which ActivityPub protocol layer a FEP operates on.
| Protocol | Description |
|---|---|
| S2S | Server-to-Server -- defines activities or behavior exchanged between federated servers via inbox delivery |
| C2S | Client-to-Server -- defines interactions where a client posts to an outbox or queries server endpoints |
A FEP may specify both S2S and C2S if it covers both layers. FEPs that only define data models, vocabularies, or process conventions do not carry a protocol tag.
Type¶
The existing type field in FEP frontmatter. Describes the intent of the document.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| implementation | Defines a concrete specification that software can implement and test for conformance |
| informational | Provides guidance, documents existing practice, or describes process -- no conformance requirement |